The Semen of Fertile Men. II. Semen Characteristics of 100 Fertile Men

Semen Features of 596 Truly Infertile Men

“…Multiple semen sampling eliminated errors inherent in single-sample evaluation. The range, and mean semen volume, 0.4-10 ml and 2.56 ± 1.46, are fairly similar to those of fertile men according to various authors: e.g., 0.6-11 ml, 3.36 ± 1.84 by Sobreno and Rehan [8]; 0.1-12 ml, 2.51 ± 1.5 by Smith et al [5]; 0.4-7.5 ml, 2.83 ± 1.58 by Nelson and Bunge [2], and 0.1-11 ml, 3.2 ± 1.4 by Rehan et al [3], The mean sperm concentration of 7.38 ± 17.5 ob tained in this study is significantly lower statistically than 90 ± 71 and 47.8 ± 36 (p < 0.001) obtained by Macleod and Gold [1] and Smith et al [5] in a study of 1,000 and 198 husbands of infertile couples, respective ly. In fact the figures of these authors bear closer rela tionship with mean sperm densities of fertile men, e.g.…”

“…The age range, the mean and frequency distribution ( fig. 1) compare with those of fertile men [2,6,8]. Any possible effects of age on semen characteristics were therefore insignificant in this study.…”

Semen analysis with regard to sperm number, sperm morphology and functional aspects

“…The low sperm concentration noted in 5% of semen samples from men classified as fertile because they had a pregnant partner conforms to what was published in the 1970s by David et al [8], Eliasson [7], MacLeod and Wang [9], Smith et al [10], Sobrero and Rehan [11], Zuckerman et al [12], van Zyl et al [13], and others. Maybe the lower reference limit presented by WHO together with these supporting references can finally overthrow the 20 million mL -1 paradigm.…”

Are Changing Semen Parameters a Universal Phenomenon?

“…Polyzoospermia (i.e., density in excess of 250 mil lion/ml) was noted in 3% of the males. Sobrero and Rehan [12] obtained a similar figure. Thus the shift to the left of mean sperm densities noted in recent years and confirmed by this study has resulted from the reduction in the number of men with sion sets, X-ray machines (often sited in residential ar eas), uncontrolled disposal of radioactive wastes, nuclear explosions in the Sahara Desert and the Congo, coupled with widespread drug abuse from inadequate regulation of sales, have all combined to produce a changed envi ronment. The role of these agents, which now exist in all parts of the world, must be investigated seriously and with haste because of the threat which they pose to man kind.…”